One thing I have noticed is that the demographics in the city change drastically during the work day. No matter if I go to CVS, out for lunch, or to the Public Library, the places are teeming with the Senior Citizen Brigade (just try to get a seat at Panera in the mornings...), Soccer Moms with their toddlers, and me. (There is that guy behind the non-fiction section who is there every day looking at anime websites, but we avoid direct eye contact.) I figure that I must be a modern-day Hester Prynne, with a big 'U' - for unemployed - on my forehead as I walk around.
And now I can pay for my purchases with my brand-new Illinois Department of Employment Security Visa debit card. Man, I'd hate to be the person who finds out their benefits have been cut off when their debit card is denied for lack of funds.
On the flip side, this has the side benefit of making us more frugal than ever before. We are using our credit card 'points' to obtain everyday essentials like the ice-cream maker attachment for our Kitchenaid mixer. We also are clipping coupons like crazy - and, for the record, our neighbor's paper had been on their driveway since last week. Once it blew onto our front lawn, we could claim some form of eminent domain or environmental clean-up act, right?
Used to be that the Chicago Tribune classified ads were the gold standard for job listings, but now everything has moved to the internet. Which is mostly good, in that I can look up companies I never new about before and find all the jobs available that I am not remotely qualified for. But, I read recently that one HR manager figures he gets an average of 375 submissions for each job he posts - so, they can afford to be choosy.
Yeah, that's the ticket - the reason he didn't get my award-winning resume is that his mailbox was probably full.
I knew people at a couple of the companies I applied at, so I sent them e-mails asking if they had any inside info that might help me out. However, both of them said that layoffs had just occurred and were most likely coming around again.
Since my wife has a pretty good job (and good benefits), I have even considered working retail at a cool place like the Apple Store or REI. But, I am not sure if I want to work nights or weekends - perhaps my viewpoint will change as the checking account starts to flat-line. Plus, think of all of the cool camping gear and Iphones I can use my employee discount on...
Of course, this whole blog entry has been in jest - I am sure that I will find a good job from all of my diligent searching.
Just make sure that when you drive up, talk loudly into the speaker - otherwise, I might forget the fries or hot sauce.
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